Archive for Helen Kara

My inspiration for writing comes from people and the world around me. I find people’s motivations and relationships endlessly fascinating, and love to reflect that in my writing.

I am also inspired by language. The word ‘inspiration’ is interesting in itself. It originally meant a divine impulse to create, something external to the creator, often embodied as a ‘Muse’ or minor goddess who presided over art.

Some people say they need the Muse’s touch before they can start writing. My own experience of the Muse is that there’s no point waiting for her because she won’t turn up. I have learned to stimulate my own creativity by looking, and thinking, and writing odd words and sentences, until I come upon something that interests me – however small – on which I can build.

The two stories in this collection come from very different musings. I have never wanted children of my own, but have always loved being an auntie. I wondered how it might feel to have discovered that I did want children, and began to explore this in ‘Aunt Agony’. The inspiration for ‘A Day To Remember’ came from thinking about the Falklands war and how people’s experiences of that conflict might still be affecting them today.

So, for me, ‘inspiration’ is about working to create a spark which will kindle a narrative. I experience it as an internal process rather than an external force.

Once I have my spark, the next job is to find and build a character. But that’s another story.

“Sarah reached over to stroke his head. ‘Are you ready to go to sleep now, lovey?’ she said hopefully.
He pulled his thumb from his mouth. ‘You have to read to me, Auntie Sarah,’ he said reproachfully, and popped his thumb back in like a punctuation mark.”